1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is windshields or wind blocking devices attaching to motor boats for protection of driver and passengers against wind and water spray when operating the boat.
2. Description of the Related Art
As pleasure motor boats and commonly boats known as "bass boats" have reached higher and higher speeds (50 to 70 mph is not uncommon), wind and water spray coming over the bow of the boat when traveling at high speeds can be discomforting and possibly painful for the driver and passengers in the boat. As a consequence, on many passenger boats the manufacturers have taken to installing consoles on the boats which has the effect of deflecting the wind and water spray upward and away from the riders. These consoles generally have a somewhat triangular cross-section with one rounded contour surface facing the front of the boat and are typically installed in front of the driver and in front of a passenger seated across from the driver on the other side of the boat. These consoles are usually no wider than a seat. Many boats, if not most, have a driver/passenger compartment with a floor below the top deck level of the boat and in which compartment the seats and consoles of the boats are placed. If the boat has consoles for both driver and passenger, the floor of the compartment takes on a "T" shape. The shank of this "T" shaped section runs towards the front of the boat and seats are across the top portion of the "T". This arrangement allows the boat driver and passengers to sit in the compartment and also to stow equipment in the shank of the "T". Most boats have seats for the driver and passenger with a possible middle seat formed by a removable cushion. The driver sits on one far side with one or more passengers sitting across from or beside the driver.
As mentioned before the consoles provide some protection at low speeds for the driver and far outside passenger from the wind and water spray although a passenger in the center is totally unprotected. However, as boats approach higher and higher speeds, the protection afforded by these consoles is lessened and reaches a point where they are substantially ineffective. Wind and water spray enters the center area between the driver and passenger consoles to adversely affect the riders.
Thus there becomes a need for additional protection from the wind and water spray, especially when the boat is traveling at high rates of speed.
In the past, there have been devices which provided additional protection. For example, Martin, in 1990 U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,056, discloses a transparent windshield for boats which surrounds to effect an enlargement of the driver's console, and which is raised and lowered in position by a electrical actuator. Louis in a 1964 U.S. Pat. No. 3,161,895 and Hunt in a 1958 U.S. Pat. No. 2,836,140 provide a windshield for placement between two spaced apart existing windshields of an enclosed compartment of a cabin cruiser type boat.
Lastly, Runquist in 1943 U.S. Pat. No. 2,308,109, provides a collapsible wind-spray shield for a boat which covers the full front of the boat and is mounted upon the top deck of the boat.
While the above art known to the inventor is useful for the purposes for which they were invented, yet they do not provide a windshield usable in the present style high speed motor boats such as bass boats which are completely open and provide a driver side console and perhaps a passenger side console also.
As wind and water spray impacting on riders becomes increasingly uncomfortable and possibly unsafe at higher speeds, it becomes readily apparent that there is a need for an improved windshield for boats of today's design at high speeds. As a consequence, the need for a device which affords protection to the driver and passenger, including multiple passengers, sitting in the boat is obvious.